Current affairs (news format)

Current affairs is a genre of broadcast journalism where the emphasis is on detailed analysis and discussion of news stories that have recently occurred or are ongoing at the time of broadcast.

This differs from regular news broadcasts that place emphasis on news reports presented for simple presentation as soon as possible, often with a minimum of analysis. It is also different from the news magazine show format, in that the events are discussed immediately.

The UK's Office programmes such as Panorama, Real Story, BBC Scotland Investigates, Spotlight, Week In Week Out, and Inside Out also fit the definition.[1]

In Canada, CBC Radio produces a number of current affairs show both nationally such as The Current and As it Happens as well as regionally with morning current affairs shows such as Information Morning, a focus the radio network developed in the 1970s as a way to recapture audience from television.[2]

References

  1. Plans to increase prominence and appeal of current affairs programming, a BBC press release
  2. Morris Wolfe, Fifty Years of Radio, CBC Enterprises (1986), p. 36